Producing an ultrahigh-uniformity gravitational field

Abstract

We present a new "double-ring" source mass distribution which produces a gravitational field which varies by less than one part in one hundred billion for a 0.025% change in the position of the test point.Such a source mass distribution removes a major obstacle to making ultra-high-precision measurements of the gravitational field in the laboratory: the formidable problem of precisely locating the test mass. The double-ring source mass would allow the gravitational inverse square law to be tested in the laboratory using current position-measuring techniques to an accuracy one thousand times better than the limits now given by perihelion data.